No Fifa World Cup 2026 for Indian football fans? The broadcasting controversy, explained

Football fever is rising. Fifa World Cup 2026 is just 21 days away.

Across the globe, fans are gathering together, hoping that their team lifts the prestigious trophy. However, in India, millions of fans may not get to see Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Luka Modric, and others in action as broadcasters haven’t reached deals with football’s governing body, Fifa.

And this drama has deepened, with public broadcaster Prasar Bharati noting that securing the Fifa World Cup broadcasting rights in India is not its responsibility.

But what’s going on? What’s behind the World Cup broadcast rights crisis in India?

No takers for Fifa in India

In 2022, Reliance’s Jio paid $60 million (Rs 480 crore) for the World Cup rights, while Sony Sports had secured broadcasting rights for the 2018 and 2014 editions, as well as the Euro championship in 2016, for $90 million (Rs 865 crore).

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Seeing previous engagement — India’s was only second to China during the 2022 edition — Fifa first quoted a $100 million (Rs 962 crore) price tag for the 2026 tournament and the 2027 Women’s Cup. After receiving no takers, Fifa then dragged down its price to $35 million (Rs 336 crore).

But it seems that this amount isn’t getting any response.

Football fans at a public screening of the 2022 FIFA World Cup final football match between France and Argentina in Puducherry. File image/AFP

Why?

The kick-off times for the matches seem to be the biggest issue for broadcasters. When the tournament begins on June 11, only 10 per cent of the 104 matches will not take place between midnight and 6 am. The timings, broadcasters note, are inconvenient for Indian television audiences. This causes advertiser interest to wane, making it a less interesting option for broadcasters.

The Fifa World Cup 2026 also clashes with the Cricket Women’s T20 World Cup and Commonwealth Games, both in England, taking a few eyeballs away from the football tournament.

Broadcasters have already committed more than $10 billion to cricket rights, including the IPL and ICC events over the current cycle, leaving limited budgets for other sports.

Doordarshan, the court case, and Fifa World Cup

With the broadcasters showing no interest in acquiring the rights to Fifa World Cup 2026, Indians looked to Doordarshan, which last beamed the tournament in 1998.

One eager fan even approached the Delhi High Court, requesting it to intervene on the matter. Advocate Avdhesh Bairwa moved the court, arguing that despite the tournament running from June 11 to July 19, no broadcaster in India has officially acquired the media rights so far, raising fears that millions of football fans could miss out on the biggest sporting event in the world.

A rickshaw puller transports a passenger past a mural depicting Brazil's Neymar and Marcelo along a street in Kolkata. File image/Reuters

“Without timely judicial intervention by this court, the petitioner and millions of Indian citizens will be irreparably deprived of their fundamental rights with no adequate alternative remedy,” Bairwa said in the plea.

He further claimed that missing out on the tournament violates the constitutional protections of freedom of speech. “It is important to note that by denying access to the information in question or by not taking necessary steps to broadcast the FIFA World Cup, the respondents have directly infringed the petitioner’s fundamental right to acquire and receive information, which is an integral part of freedom of speech and expression under the constitution,” the petitioner argued in the plea.

In his petition, Bairwa urged for free-to-air telecast of key matches through platforms like Doordarshan and DD Sports.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav then sought the stand of both the central government and Prasar Bharti. And on May 20, Prasar Bharati told the court that it is “not responsible” for acquiring Fifa World Cup rights in India.

What this means is that there’s still no broadcaster for the tournament that is just days away.

A last-minute hope

With Indian fans morose about the uncertainty of watching their favourite football stars during the World Cup, a small sliver of hope has emerged thanks to Avni LLC, an Indian-American investment corporation based in Washington, DC.

News agency ANI has reported that the Washington-based firm has emerged as an unusual contender for the Fifa India rights. Avni LLC submitted a corporate guarantee backed by financial commitments exceeding $300 million in February 2026. The company claimed that an associated partner won the bid after competing against several major Indian broadcasters.

India’s football mania

While football isn’t regarded as a religion like cricket in India, it has a significant fan base in the country. According to data released by Fifa, when the World Cup was played in Qatar in 2022, India was only second to China in overall engagement figures, with more than 745 million fans following the action across all media platforms in the country.

A boy rides his bicycle past a giant cut out of Argentina’s football player Lionel Messi at a roadside, on the outskirts of Kochi, India. India has a notable football following. File image/Reuters

In fact, India was among the top 10 countries when it came to television numbers — nearly 84 million viewers. This put India’s numbers far beyond countries such as Germany, France, and England.

Digital viewership numbers were also substantial in India. For the final alone, an unprecedented 32 million viewers tuned in on Reliance’s JioCinema, as the tournament clocked 40 billion minutes of watch time on the platform.

Fans hope and pray that some last-minute deal is struck. I’m heartbroken that we will not have any reliable way to watch the World Cup this year,” said Vishwas Banerjee, a Messi fan from Kolkata, to Al Jazeera. “But we will tune to pirated streams anyway,” he added. “No one can stop that.”

With inputs from agencies